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In a brilliant display of precision passing -- one of the best you’ll ever see -- Peyton Manning threw for an NFL-record-tying seven touchdowns Thursday night to lead the Denver Broncos to a 49-27 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.

“It was incredible,” Broncos head coach John Fox said of Manning’s performance in the quarterback’s 15th season opener.

It was a scorching way to kick off the 94th NFL season on a hot, muggy night before 76,814 fans at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, even if there was another unlikely half-hour delay in a ballyhooed NFL game.

A passing thunderstorm delayed opening kickoff by 33 minutes. In the last meaningful NFL game before this, Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans last February, a power outage at the Superdome interrupted proceedings for 34 minutes.

So at least the delays are getting shorter.

Not that it mattered to Manning.

He might be 37, but against the Ravens he showed he’s as good as ever, as good as any quarterback the game has known, and significantly better than any of the young hotshots we NFL scribes forever froth over.

Mostly from the shotgun, and usually in hurry-up mode, Manning completed 27-of-42 passes for 462 yards and a completely sick passer rating of 141.1. He wasn’t intercepted.

“You never know what’s going to happen in a game,” Manning said. “I felt we had to keep scoring. Baltimore has an explosive offence.”

Not as explosive as Manning’s.

In the first quarter, the Ravens defensive backs made great plays to break up four of Manning’s passes, forcing two punts. Afterward, Manning was zoned in, frustrating those same players repeatedly with his surgical precision.

Time after time, Manning put the ball in places where only his receivers could catch it, most effectively to speedy tight end Julius Thomas -- who caught two first-half touchdown passes -- and to newly acquired slot receiver Wes Welker.

Despite his colossal brain cramp in the second quarter -- a muffed punt inside the Broncos five-yard line that resulted in a gimme Ravens touchdown -- Welker proved his value to this offence, catching two third-quarter scoring passes.

Manning wrote his name yet more times into the NFL career passing record book.

It was his first game with seven touchdown passes (tying him with five other quarterbacks for the single-game league record). It was his third game with six touchdown passes, which extends his NFL record. It was his seventh game with five touchdown passes, a record he now shares with Drew Brees. It was his 23rd game with four touchdown throws, which ties him with record-holder Brett Favre. And it was his 74th game with three touchdown passes, a record he holds alone.

No one had thrown seven touchdown passes since 1969.

“It’s definitely a special feeling, but it’s just one win. We all know that,” Manning said.

He claimed earlier this week that he wasn’t seeking revenge for his blunder in overtime against the Ravens in their divisional playoff game in January, when he lame-armed an interception that ultimately ended the Broncos’ season.

Whether he stewed about it for eight months or not, he outgunned Flacco, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, by a wide margin Thursday.

The only asterisk is that Manning has all those diversely talented receivers, whereas Flacco no longer has Anquan Boldin (traded to the San Francisco 49ers), hasn’t got injured Dennis Pitta (his top tight end) and lost fleet wideout Jacoby Jones in the second quarter. Jones sprained a knee after a teammate mistakenly flattened him as he waved for a fair catch on a punt return.

The Ravens actually led at halftime, 17-14. They opened the scoring with an impressive 80-yard drive on their second possession thanks to Flacco’s accurate strikes. He and his offensive mates didn’t look that crisp again until garbage time, after Denver had taken a 42-17 lead.

The Broncos tied it 7-7 with 11:35 left in the opening half thanks to Flacco’s first interception in 210 throws. Broncos cornerback Chris Harris cut in front of ex-Bronco Brandon Stokley deep in Ravens territory and made a fabulous diving pick. It was the first time Flacco had been intercepted since Harris pick-sixed him two Baltimore-Denver games ago in mid-December.

On the next play, from the Baltimore 24-yard line, Manning barely got off a perfect pass to tight end Julius Thomas for his first touchdown of the game.

After Welker’s muffed punt led to Baltimore taking a 14-7 lead, Manning and the Broncos quickly tied it. Thomas covered the last 67 yards of the drive in two dazzling plays.

To start the second half, Manning led the Broncos down field in just six plays to give Denver its first lead, 21-17. Manning lofted a perfectly placed floater down the left sideline into the hands of wide receiver Andre Caldwell.

On succeeding drives, Manning hit Welker for his two scores. Denver was so dominant, in every phase, that Manning threw four second-half touchdown passes before Flacco and the Ravens picked up their second first down of the half.

To put a capper on his historic night, with 4:30 left in the game Manning found Demaryius Thomas for a short gainer that the receiver broke 78 yards for a touchdown.

Peyton Manning throws seven TDs as Broncos bash Ravens

Denver quarterback ties NFL single-game passing touchdown record

In a brilliant display of precision passing -- one of the best you’ll ever see -- Peyton Manning threw for an NFL-record-tying seven touchdowns Thursday night to lead the Denver Broncos to a 49-27 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.

“It was incredible,” Broncos head coach John Fox said of Manning’s performance in the quarterback’s 15th season opener.

It was a scorching way to kick off the 94th NFL season on a hot, muggy night before 76,814 fans at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, even if there was another unlikely half-hour delay in a ballyhooed NFL game.

A passing thunderstorm delayed opening kickoff by 33 minutes. In the last meaningful NFL game before this, Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans last February, a power outage at the Superdome interrupted proceedings for 34 minutes.

Not that it mattered to Manning.

He might be 37, but against the Ravens he showed he’s as good as ever, as good as any quarterback the game has known, and significantly better than any of the young hotshots we NFL scribes forever froth over.